Clipse - Til The Casket Drops

he contemporary realm of hip hop music can be seen as polarized between two sides; mainstream versus underground, industry versus independent, at a base level boiled down to catchy sounds and infective hooks over higher quality lyrical content. It's rare to find an act that can please all sides of the discussion. Clipse are one of the few groups that successfully and consistently caters to both sides of rap's splintered psyche. Though their preceding official albums Lord Willin (2002) and Hell Hath No Fury (2006) made bigger splashes commercially, 2009's Til The Casket Drops is surely no slouch, a gem which deserves to be revisited with fresh ears good thing CMG  has given it the proper treatment it deserves with its first-ever vinyl pressing! Til The Casket Drops was a departure from the duo of Malice and Pusha T's previous works in that it was their first LP not completely produced by The Neptunes.

However, the celebrated team who brought us Grinding & Mr. Me Too still helmed 8 of the album's 13 tracks, thus dominating the soundscapes and aesthetic of the album anyway. With the remaining beats handled by Hitmen Sean C and LV (Jay-Z, Big Pun, Ghostface) and Aftermath's DJ Khalil (Kendrick Lamar, Aloe Blacc, Eminem) clearly Clipse stock hadn't lowered in the game. While boasting notable vocal features from Kanye West, Pharrell, Cam ron, Keri Hilson, Yo Gotti and their Re-Up Gang affiliate Ab-Liva, Casket Drops leaves ample space for the core emcee duo of Pusha and Malice to shine in the spotlight, with verses revolving around each other succinctly in-synch and bonded by an exceptional creative rhythm only biological brothers could share.